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Code strings in macOS Sierra hint at future Macs with 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 support

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 22, 2017

Code strings found in the latest beta of macOS Sierra—originally discovered in the macOS API definitions by app developer Felix Schwartz back in June—indicate that future Macs will almost certainly support the latest USB 3.1 Gen 2 standard, which allows for up to 10 Gbps transfer speeds. While plans regarding future Macs could change, we fully expect the upcoming machines—just like existing and previous Macs—to support the latest and greatest in USB and Thunderbolt tech.

Major record label reportedly bans “exclusive” deals with Apple Music and other services

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 29, 2016

Apple's practice of locking down long-term exclusive deals with artists has reportedly drawn ire from Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's biggest major label. Frank Ocean’s recent exclusive deal with Apple was a wakeup call for the industry, with UMG set to curtail its practice of supplying Apple Music and other services with longterm exclusives.

“It’s our job to make sure that there’s not just one winner in music streaming,” a source told BuzzFeed News.

Report: Deutsche Telekom to lure customers with 6 months of Apple Music for free

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2016

German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom is reportedly planning to lure prospective customers into the fold by enticing them with six free months of Apple Music, about a $60 value.

German-language blog iPhone-ticker.de reported Wednesday that Deutsche Telekom is set to announce the offer at IFA in Berlin, Europe's largest consumer electronics show that runs September 2-7.

A fascinating look at how artificial intelligence and machine learning work at Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 22, 2017

Respected journalist Steven Levy has scored another nice exclusive with a new write-up over at Backchannel, a Wired Media Group property, giving us a rare inside look at how artificial intelligence and machine learning work at Apple.

The article contains a lot of gems, with company executives Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi, Phil Schiller and Siri leads Tom Gruber and Alex Acero providing a bunch of previously unknown facts about Apple's AI efforts, including this one: machine learning has enabled Apple to cut Siri's error rate by a factor or two.

Twelve South launches BookBook and SurfacePad cases for 9.7″ iPad Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2016

Premium accessory maker Twelve South today added a new 9.7" iPad Pro-optimized member to its vintage-style Book Book cases, three months following Book Book for 12.9-inch iPad Pro that debuted in early-summer. The company also said that customers can now pick up Surface Pad covers for their 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The new Book Book for the 9.7-inch tablet is priced at $79.99, or $99.99 for the Rutledge Edition.

As for the stylish SurfacePad sleeve for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, it'll set you back $79.99.

Apple customers spend an estimated $1 per day

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2016

A lot has been said about Apple's various services like the iTunes and App Stores, Apple Pay, Apple Music, Apple Care and others now making more money than its Mac business. In the June quarter, for example, the Services category shot up 20 percent year-over-year, raking in nearly $6 billion in quarterly revenue and making Services the second largest part of Apple's revenue overall.

Services allow Apple to generate a steady stream of revenue from existing devices, leading Asymco analyst Horace Dediu to estimate in an interview with The Financial Times that, including hardware and software, existing Apple customers currently spend around $1 per day.

Obviously fake iPhone 6SE packaging photos are circulating around the Internet

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2016

Some reputable outlets are running supposed photographs of the supposed packaging for Apple's supposed 'iPhone 6SE' smartphone—despite the fact that the images have been identified as poorly faked Photoshop mockups. The understandable excitement around those obviously doctored shots stems from a very sketchy post by German blog Apfelpage.de.

Earlier in the summer, that outlet made unsubstantiated claims that Apple might market the iPhone 7 under the 'iPhone 6SE' moniker or perhaps release an updated iPhone SE with iPhone 6-style design, neither of which makes any sense to me.

You can now mark recommended videos as ‘Not Interested’ in YouTube for iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 24, 2016

Google today issued a small update to its YouTube client on the App Store, adding a feature that enables better suggestions while fixing three annoying bugs.

Bumped to version 11.32, the iPhone and iPad application now makes it easy to improve personalized suggestions by marking recommended videos under the Up Next section as “Not Interested,” which helps train the algorithm to better tailor recommendations to your personal tastes.

Three jailbreak tweaks for Pokémon GO to try right now

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated September 13, 2016

Two things of great interest for iPhone owners as of late are Pokémon GO and the new Pangu jailbreak for iOS 9.3.3.

So if you were fans of both worlds, and you want to somehow combine the two, then get ready for our roundup of some of the best jailbreak tweaks for use with Pokémon GO.

Spotify looking to lower its revenue share with music labels

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

Spotify is out of contract with all three major music companies, and according to Music Business Worldwide, the renegotiations aren't going well. Citing sources familiar with the talks, the outlet says the sticking point is revenue share.

With Spotify preparing for an IPO, the labels see this as a great opportunity to get the streaming company to raise its revenue split from around 55% to 58%, which is what Apple Music pays. Spotify, however, wants to lower the amount.

Pinterest just bought Instapaper

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 23, 2016

In a newsworthy move that in all likelihood makes lots of sense, the photo sharing service Pinterest has acquired Pinterest, the popular app and web service for saving webpages to read later.

According to the announcement, Pinterest will continue to develop and maintain the mobile Instapaper app, available at no charge on the App Store.

Facebook testing autoplaying videos with sound

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 26, 2023

What could be worse than those pesky autoplaying videos on Facebook? Autoplaying videos that begin playing audio automatically as you scroll past them in your News Feed, but of course! And that's precisely what Facebook is currently experimenting with, according to Mashable.

At the moment, the company is currently testing two methods of getting users to watch video with sound: one involving autoplaying videos with sound and the other with an Unmute button on the lower right corner of such videos.